Home Office

Ministers of Religion: Registration

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's plans for a proposed national register of faith leaders in countering extremism.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has under its proposal for a national register of faith leaders to (a) vet faith leaders from outside the UK before or after their arrival in the UK, (b) subject faith leaders already in the UK to the same level of vetting as applies to those entering the UK, (c) exclude teachers or priests from any particular religion or denomination from the requirement to register and (d) deal with faith leaders entering the UK or already resident here who are believed to be a threat to national security.

Karen Bradley: The Government will publish its Counter-Extremism strategy in the near future. There are no plans for a national register of faith leaders.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Higher Education: Part-time Education

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to encourage employers to invest in part-time courses in higher education.

Joseph Johnson: We have relaxed the rules for those wishing to retrain through part time study in some selected courses in science, technology and engineering courses, and in 2012 introduced tuition fee loans to help part time students finance their studies. In addition, we are also investing in higher level and degree apprenticeships. To support employer investment we have announced the introduction of an apprenticeship levy, enabling employers to choose and pay for apprenticeship training, including at higher level. A consultation on its implementation was launched on 21 August 2015.

Science: Capital Investment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2015 to Question 8264, what reviews his Department conducted into the adequacy of capital research spending in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson: In 2013 the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) commissioned the International Comparative Performance of the UK Research Base Report to understand how the UK compares with other nations in research terms. The report highlighted that the UK’s field-weighted citation impact was the highest of those countries included in the report, rising to 1.66 in 2012[1], compared to the world average of 1.0.All science capital spend is agreed as part of a wider allocations process, informed by information from Research Councils and other partner organisations, as well as by evidence provided in business cases for specific capital projects. In addition, the 2014 science capital consultation allowed stakeholders to provide feedback on the adequacy of capital research spending.All capital projects undertake regular assurance reviews.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/performance-of-the-uk-research-base-international-comparison-2013